Raimondo plans to allow summer camps to open June 29

G. Wayne Miller Journal Staff Writer gwaynemiller

Thursday

May 14, 2020 at 1:41 PM

PROVIDENCE — If all goes as planned, municipal and private summer camps should be able to open on June 29, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced at her daily coronavirus briefing Thursday. But camps will be following restrictive guidelines, still in the making, that will make the experience "fun but different" than in the pre-coronavirus era, the governor said.

Raimondo emphasized that the June 29 date is a "goal," not a certainty. "Just like everything else, it’s subject to change," the governor said. Determining factors include the numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state.

So far, Raimondo said, Rhode Island is on "an excellent trajectory."

When camps open, Raimondo said, campers will be organized into "small, stable groups" of children and adult workers — "pods," she called them, numbering 10 "or slightly more" youngsters. A pod will have limited interaction with other pods, and the composition of a pod will be the same children whenever they go at camp — the "stable" element.

Children and adults will be screened via a checklist on arrival, and anyone showing symptoms of any sickness will not be allowed to attend. Regular sanitizing, hand-washing, deep-cleaning and related anti-viral measures will also be required. Such arrangements will reduce the risks of transmitting COVID-19.

Raimondo said that some of the $1.2 billion in federal stimulus funds Rhode Island has received will be designated to municipalities that run camps to help with the costs of additional staff, deep-cleaning and other steps that will be required. Formal guidelines will be published next week on reopeningri.com, the governor said.

Acknowledging the importance of athletics for many young people, Raimondo said plans are also in the works to allow certain practices and summer sports camps even as organized competition — Little League, for example — remains suspended.

And, she said, summer learning will be supported, although exactly how remains to be seen.

"We have a full-on effort figuring out how to do that," the governor said. More information could be available next week.

Raimondo turned heartfelt in addressing high school seniors, who have been denied spring-semester sports, proms, in-person graduation ceremonies and other rites of passage for young people about to enter adulthood.

"I’m sorry the virus pulled the rug out from under you just as you were nearing the finish line," the governor said.

Raimondo provided more detail about "Your Year 2020," the Rhode Island PBS-broadcast statewide graduation ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 15, saying "some really fun guests," as yet unnamed, will appear. She also set a deadline of May 22 for submission of videos to www.ripbs.org/youryear2020

"I’d encourage you all to submit a video," Raimondo said. "I know this isn’t what you expected, but if everybody leans in and makes it fun. It will be fun."

The governor also said as the state moves into Phase 2 of its reopening schedule, libraries will begin to allow patrons inside — with restrictions. Many libraries currently allow curbside pickup of loaned materials, which will continue.

During her time on the stage of Veterans Memorial Auditorium, where press conferences shifted this week after a period of remote presentations from the State House, Health Department Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott announced the latest numbers.

Six additional fatalities were reported, with one of the deceased in their 70s, two in their 80s and three in their 90s. That brings the total to fatalities to 468, according to updated information on the state Department of Health’s website.

The state also announced 181 additional positive tests, bringing the total number of positive cases to 12,016.

Alexander-Scott also said that the state government and Rhode Island’s private "engaged, active and brilliant [health-care] providers," notably Hasbro Children’s Hospital, are monitoring the emergence elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad of a rare syndrome associated with COVID-19 that has resulted in the deaths of a few children, who largely have been spared from coronavirus.

Named "pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome," the condition resembles Kawasaki disease, which mostly affects children younger than 5. The syndrome involves dangerous inflammation of blood vessels and can lead to toxic shock, which can be fatal. Symptoms include rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, difficulty breathing and abdominal pain.

Plans are being prepared should Rhode Island see any cases, Alexander-Scott said.

Urging people to continue with social distancing, wearing masks and other precautions, Raimondo said, "I want you to know we’re on our road to recovery. We will get there. This pain is temporary.

"I can’t wait for the day when I can get up here and say. ‘There’s no more limit on gatherings. We don’t have to wear our masks anymore.’ But that day is not today," she said.

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